Review: Garou: Mark of the Wolves

[ccesarano]

A lot can change in ten years.

In 1999 we were wowed by the 128 bit raw power of Sega’s Dreamcast console, but by today’s standards it looks positively prehistoric. In 1999 Steve Jobs announced a new third-person action game named Halo would be coming to Mac and PC simultaneously, but instead is an exclusive first-person shooting success to Microsoft’s Xbox console systems. In 1999 SNK’s Garou: Mark of the Wolves was considered an amazing fighting game, one of the best you can buy.

Ten years later I’ve come to realize that some things never change…

If you are a fan of SNK at all, you have no doubt already paid for, downloaded and played the Hell out of this game. Garou: Mark of the Wolves , also known as Fatal Fury: Mark of the Wolves is the final game in SNK’s long running Fatal Fury series, and it is apparent that this is the sort of game that can only exist after years and years of fine tuning the series.

MadeMan's full article

[MadeManG74]

I really do hope that at least a handful of people on this site are willing to give this game a shot, it really is a great fighting game. Even if you only have a passing interest in fighters, it's worth looking at. No doubt a lot of people will be interested in Marvel vs Capcom 2, and I think this game is a nice compliment to that or KOF98, as it plays quite differently, and I personally think it's just as good (possibly better).

[Sega Uranus]

Even though at the end of the day I like The King of Fighters 98 Ultimate Match more, I have to say Garou is a better game all-round. If someone has never played an SNK fighter or any 2D fighter in general I would honestly show this to them first.

And well, SNK's older fighters have aged really really awfully IMO, but Garou is still as great as it was the day it was released, like he said.

[EarthViper]

I really do hope that at least a handful of people on this site are willing to give this game a shot, it really is a great fighting game. Even if you only have a passing interest in fighters, it's worth looking at. No doubt a lot of people will be interested in Marvel vs Capcom 2, and I think this game is a nice compliment to that or KOF98, as it plays quite differently, and I personally think it's just as good (possibly better).

Even as someone who is hardly big on fighters I'd be willing to give more of these a shot if they were on anything but the 360. I don't understand why 2D fighters seem to be the hot new trend on the XBLA when the 360 has one of if not the worst dpads in the history of video games meanwhile old-school style games that would actually not be hurt by it's shittasticness like RPG's *cough* make up a whopping 1/228th of the arcade.

[MadeManG74]

I really do hope that at least a handful of people on this site are willing to give this game a shot, it really is a great fighting game. Even if you only have a passing interest in fighters, it's worth looking at. No doubt a lot of people will be interested in Marvel vs Capcom 2, and I think this game is a nice compliment to that or KOF98, as it plays quite differently, and I personally think it's just as good (possibly better).

Even as someone who is hardly big on fighters I'd be willing to give more of these a shot if they were on anything but the 360. I don't understand why 2D fighters seem to be the hot new trend on the XBLA when the 360 has one of if not the worst dpads in the history of video games meanwhile old-school style games that would actually not be hurt by it's shittasticness like RPG's *cough* make up a whopping 1/228th of the arcade.

Nice segways into RPGs on XBLA EV

I personally have gotten pretty used to using the analogue stick for 2D fighters on 360, I was hoping the fightpad would be the ultimate solution but it was a huge dissapointment. As it is though, the analogue stick isn't perfect (especially for something like KOF98UM where the inputs are incredibly strict) but it suffices.

[Nolan]

When I think of D-pads, I just can't call the 360's the worst. The GC d-pad springs to mind for that. Although, the 360's isn't grand either.

[ccesarano]

I always found the Dreamcast D-pad to hurt my thumb a lot considering how high above the rest of the controller it was raised.

[EarthViper]

Those systems did both have bad dpads and let's face it, there pretty much hasn't been a 'good' one for 2 freaking generations. But as small and stiff as the GC's was and as uncomfortable as the DC's were at least they effing responded when you pushed them. Only 80% of the time does a full press on the 360's dpad even register, I can't count the times I've selected the wrong option in a menu such as the dashboard of XBL Guide because I've pushed the dpad 4 times to scroll down 4 options but instead ended up selecting the 3rd option because the confounded dpad just doesn't feel like registering every time you push it.

[MadeManG74]

Those systems did both have bad dpads and let's face it, there pretty much hasn't been a 'good' one for 2 freaking generations. But as small and stiff as the GC's was and as uncomfortable as the DC's were at least they effing responded when you pushed them. Only 80% of the time does a full press on the 360's dpad even register, I can't count the times I've selected the wrong option in a menu such as the dashboard of XBL Guide because I've pushed the dpad 4 times to scroll down 4 options but instead ended up selecting the 3rd option because the confounded dpad just doesn't feel like registering every time you push it.

The worst part is, when they actually go out of their way to make a Pad specifically for the D-pad, they still manage to make a pig's arse out of it. The FightPad is possibly worse than the 360 Pad.

[KAGE]

Read the review and I thought it was good. Pretty much covered everything that was in the game and explained it well enough. Being that I'm the biggest SNK fan, I don't know if I agree with the score, but then again I can't really think of anything that really knocks this game down.

[MadeManG74]

Read the review and I thought it was good. Pretty much covered everything that was in the game and explained it well enough. Being that I'm the biggest SNK fan, I don't know if I agree with the score, but then again I can't really think of anything that really knocks this game down.

Thanks for the comments KAGE, glad you liked the review. Did you mean you are or are not the biggest SNK fan? I'm not really sure if you are saying that you don't like SNK games in general or if you think that this isn't their best offering.

In any event, if you have this we definitely need to have a few matches!

[KAGE]

Read the review and I thought it was good. Pretty much covered everything that was in the game and explained it well enough. Being that I'm the biggest SNK fan, I don't know if I agree with the score, but then again I can't really think of anything that really knocks this game down.

Thanks for the comments KAGE, glad you liked the review. Did you mean you are or are not the biggest SNK fan? I'm not really sure if you are saying that you don't like SNK games in general or if you think that this isn't their best offering.

In any event, if you have this we definitely need to have a few matches!

I'm not the biggest SNK fan, usually preferred Capcom's offerings instead.

Reading the review again, one thing that I think may be missing would be the key elements of the game that makes it stand the test of time. I understood from the review that it plays well and such, but what makes it keep up with current or newer 2D fighters that have come out since it's original release? Not tryin to tear down your review, just something that came to mind when I read it again.

Oh and IMO, the game looks like butt.=p The animation is detailed and impressive, especially considering the tech, but the pixelated look is kinda distracting to me. For once I wouldn't have minded a smoothing option.

[MadeManG74]

Read the review and I thought it was good. Pretty much covered everything that was in the game and explained it well enough. Being that I'm the biggest SNK fan, I don't know if I agree with the score, but then again I can't really think of anything that really knocks this game down.

Thanks for the comments KAGE, glad you liked the review. Did you mean you are or are not the biggest SNK fan? I'm not really sure if you are saying that you don't like SNK games in general or if you think that this isn't their best offering.

In any event, if you have this we definitely need to have a few matches!

I'm not the biggest SNK fan, usually preferred Capcom's offerings instead.

Reading the review again, one thing that I think may be missing would be the key elements of the game that makes it stand the test of time. I understood from the review that it plays well and such, but what makes it keep up with current or newer 2D fighters that have come out since it's original release? Not tryin to tear down your review, just something that came to mind when I read it again.

Oh and IMO, the game looks like butt.=p The animation is detailed and impressive, especially considering the tech, but the pixelated look is kinda distracting to me. For once I wouldn't have minded a smoothing option.

I touched on it in my review, but what makes it keep with current/newer fighters in my opinion is that theres nothing else out there quite like it. While it at first seems similar to any number of other fighters, the system is pretty unique. The obvious ones are the TOP and Just Defend. Just defend is similar to parries, but TOP has never been replicated. As well as those big ones, there are lots of smaller quirks, like Guard Crushing, Guard cancels, Breaker moves, overheads etc. Overall though, it really just feels like a really solid fighter, the hit detection is spot on, and all the characters feel very fleshed out in terms of their moves and abilities.

Also as for the graphics, we agree on the animations at least, but I can agree that the game does look dated, but the game has such fantastic Pixel Art, I think that it's probably the peak of the Neo-Geo technology, while it's quite old technology I think that it does give it a look unlike most other games. It gives it a really unique look compared to it's contemporaries like Street Fighter 3 or Capcom vs SNK and the like, and I think it also looks better than similar styled games like King of Fighters '98 too, although that might just be me. I do think it at has some great character designs and the stages are really excellent too (The train station and freight train levels i'm particularly fond of, but can't find any good pics of ).






I guess it comes down to preferences in the end, I personally think it looks great, but it's probably not for everyone.

Good choice of words though, since there is a character called 'Butt' in the game

[KAGE]

I touched on it in my review, but what makes it keep with current/newer fighters in my opinion is that theres nothing else out there quite like it. While it at first seems similar to any number of other fighters, the system is pretty unique. The obvious ones are the TOP and Just Defend. Just defend is similar to parries, but TOP has never been replicated. As well as those big ones, there are lots of smaller quirks, like Guard Crushing, Guard cancels, Breaker moves, overheads etc. Overall though, it really just feels like a really solid fighter, the hit detection is spot on, and all the characters feel very fleshed out in terms of their moves and abilities.

Also as for the graphics, we agree on the animations at least, but I can agree that the game does look dated, but the game has such fantastic Pixel Art, I think that it's probably the peak of the Neo-Geo technology, while it's quite old technology I think that it does give it a look unlike most other games. It gives it a really unique look compared to it's contemporaries like Street Fighter 3 or Capcom vs SNK and the like, and I think it also looks better than similar styled games like King of Fighters '98 too, although that might just be me. I do think it at has some great character designs and the stages are really excellent too (The train station and freight train levels i'm particularly fond of, but can't find any good pics of ).

I guess it comes down to preferences in the end, I personally think it looks great, but it's probably not for everyone.

Good choice of words though, since there is a character called 'Butt' in the game

I know you touched on it, but IMO it should have one of the key points of your review. It is a solid fighter, but to give a game the highest score possible, you need to explain why it's more than a solid fighter. Of course this is a XBLA fighter we're talkin about, so within the context it could be one of the best fighters on the DL service. Again I'm not tearing down your review, just some constructive criticism is all. Ask Glitch, I nit pick about his reviews all the time. Not that I'm any kind of expert of writing reviews

As for the looks of the game, I love the art, but the sprite resolution is very outdated. If they are pixilated messes on my 20" monitor, I can't imagine how they look on the typical 30-50" TV. Backgrounds are also beautiful, but that's easier to keep crisp. I'm not ripping on how the game looks, but even SF: Hyper Fighting didn't look so blocky with it's original art.

The game is great, and thanks to your review, I know understand more now about the game than I did before. I just need to get used to the fighting style as I'm too used to SF.

[MadeManG74]

I touched on it in my review, but what makes it keep with current/newer fighters in my opinion is that theres nothing else out there quite like it. While it at first seems similar to any number of other fighters, the system is pretty unique. The obvious ones are the TOP and Just Defend. Just defend is similar to parries, but TOP has never been replicated. As well as those big ones, there are lots of smaller quirks, like Guard Crushing, Guard cancels, Breaker moves, overheads etc. Overall though, it really just feels like a really solid fighter, the hit detection is spot on, and all the characters feel very fleshed out in terms of their moves and abilities.

Also as for the graphics, we agree on the animations at least, but I can agree that the game does look dated, but the game has such fantastic Pixel Art, I think that it's probably the peak of the Neo-Geo technology, while it's quite old technology I think that it does give it a look unlike most other games. It gives it a really unique look compared to it's contemporaries like Street Fighter 3 or Capcom vs SNK and the like, and I think it also looks better than similar styled games like King of Fighters '98 too, although that might just be me. I do think it at has some great character designs and the stages are really excellent too (The train station and freight train levels i'm particularly fond of, but can't find any good pics of ).

I guess it comes down to preferences in the end, I personally think it looks great, but it's probably not for everyone.

Good choice of words though, since there is a character called 'Butt' in the game

I know you touched on it, but IMO it should have one of the key points of your review. It is a solid fighter, but to give a game the highest score possible, you need to explain why it's more than a solid fighter. Of course this is a XBLA fighter we're talkin about, so within the context it could be one of the best fighters on the DL service. Again I'm not tearing down your review, just some constructive criticism is all. Ask Glitch, I nit pick about his reviews all the time. Not that I'm any kind of expert of writing reviews

As for the looks of the game, I love the art, but the sprite resolution is very outdated. If they are pixilated messes on my 20" monitor, I can't imagine how they look on the typical 30-50" TV. Backgrounds are also beautiful, but that's easier to keep crisp. I'm not ripping on how the game looks, but even SF: Hyper Fighting didn't look so blocky with it's original art.

The game is great, and thanks to your review, I know understand more now about the game than I did before. I just need to get used to the fighting style as I'm too used to SF.

Thats cool I welcome the criticism! I was afraid of going too deep into the fighting system, but I think equally important to the games appeal was the variety in characters and their movesets, as well as the fun single player modes of Story and Survival, which I spent a bit of time talking about as well. I was a but uncertain about how much of the fighting system I should actually go into though, to keep it within the word limit and without going into stuff that most people probably wouldn't take much notice of (the aforementioned guard cancels, breakers etc) I tried to just focus on the things that are the most obvious or easy to understand/make use of that everyone would be able to appreciate.

In any event, adjusting to SNK fighters from Capcom takes a while to get used to, this game and KOF98 are the first SNK fighters I have played (apart from some time with KOF99 on DC) but after playing a lot of KOF '98 recently I think garou is the best place to start, it's probably the best stepping stone there is from Capcom to SNK and easily much more accessible than KOF '98 which has 60+ characters and deviates even further from the Capcom style most are used to.